Grand Forks, lagging in executive jobs, looks to grow them at home There are about 270 “management of companies and enterprises” jobs in Grand Forks and Polk counties. If the Grand Forks metro area matched the national average concentration for those positions, that figure would be nearly three times higher, at 875. Written By: Sam Easter | × A water tower in Grand Forks smiles at passersby. (Grand Forks Herald) Grand Forks is well behind national averages in executive-level jobs — the kind of positions that lead businesses large and small. For a community nestled in prairie country, that might sound about right. But more surprising is how important that statistic could be for Grand Forks’ future. If a healthy economy is a forest, experts say, drawing those positions is something like planting seeds. Figuring out how to plant more of those seeds could be vital for the community.